If you’ve ever printed “Hello, World!” to your command line and felt excitement run through your veins and POWER at your fingertips, that one line of code was just the beginning.
That is, until you realise writing more than one line of code (and writing it well) is actually really difficult…
If you’re anything like me, you find challenges addictive.
I can easily spend hours working away on a problem, trying to find a way to get to the solution and the joy of seeing what you want to happen, happen right before your eyes is just something magical.
Software development isn’t all challenging, though, it is extremely creative.
Not in the visual arts sense, like painting or photography – though some of these people who code those websites that just blow your mind are from another dimension, I swear – but in the sense that every problem has multiple ways being solved.
You could write some code that just forces an answer out of the computer while taking its lunch money and giving it a wedgie.
Or you could elegantly write some code that just floats through cyberspace like a swan in the breeze, heading off into the sunset while you sip margaritas on your newly created digi-boat.
If you don’t know what I mean, one day you’ll look at your code, then look at someone else’s code, look back at yours and want to give the computer its lunch money back.
The fact that, just like painting, you can get better with time, really drives home that software development is a skill.
It’s a skill that, with enough patience and practise, you’ll get better at.
It’s a skill that will stay with you for the rest of your life.
You can’t learn programming in one day, there’s just too much to learn. And just like painting, the process of learning software development lasts for years. As long as you’re always pushing yourself to improve, you’ll love this craft.
Enter, Digital Futures.
Digital Futures was there at the right time to provide me with a platform to build off.
The core of their programme steadily builds up your knowledge one brick at a time, taking you from strength to strength, while keeping you challenged and helping you learn how to learn along the way.
But what is it actually like working for one of Digital Futures’ clients?
Well, as you would expect from a technical job, there was a technical interview alongside a culture fit interview. A common theme between interviews is that clients are looking for ambition to learn and grow in your role as a software engineer, as well as the drive to get you reach that goal.
Once you are in a role, however; it’s go time.
I was lucky to have the opportunity to help build a new internal application from the ground up which was the best experience I could have hoped for.
Not only did I get to see what a real world application looks like from conception to production, I was able to learn so much deep knowledge about a subject from the senior engineer who was assigned to the project.
And then there are the non-technical skills that you can only get from working in a team.
I could go on all day about how invaluable it is getting to experience software engineering in a team, all the while under the guidance of someone who has been doing this for years, but I think you should experience it for yourself.
If you think that you want to challenge yourself, learn how to combine technical ability with creativity, and start a learning journey that will last the rest of your life, get in contact with the amazing team here at Digital Futures.
They’ll give you all the information you need to make an informed decision.
Christopher West 
Digital Futures 
Abhishek Ladwa 
Ruth Evans 